Vehicle seat back grip



m. 5, 1954 CROVATTQ 2,690,718

VEHICLE SEAT BACK GRIP Filed Aug. 9, 1950 Fig. 1

Patented Oct. 5, 1954 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Claims priority, application Italy December 7, 1949 4 Claims.

1 This invention relates to hanging grips for vehicles comprising a flexible handle provided with a rigid hub rocking in a substantially vertical plane on a support secured to the vehicle body near the rear seats. Grips of this type known heretofore are provided with spring means restoring the grip to its rest position, which is usually horizontal, as it is released after use.

It has been found that hanging grips of this type are generally subject to rapid wear and tear, due to the fact that the force exerted on the grip by the passengers hand is not as a rule situated in the plane of oscillation of the grip and its hub and usually has a component perpendicular to this plane so that the latter and its support are subjected to stresses which result in rapid wear.

It is an object of this invention to avoid this drawback by providing, in a grip of the type referred to above, means for conferring to the hub of the grip a certain freedom to perform movements under a certain inclination with respect to the vertical plane of its normal oscillation, resilient means tending to return the grip to the vertical plane, and second resilient means for returning the hub to its horizontal rest-position.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in a grip of the type referred to above, a helical torsion spring wound about the supporting pivot and tending to return the grip to its horizontal position, when it is moved away from this position, and a spring interposed between the grip hub and supporting pivot for returning the grip to its rest position with its axis perpendicular to the pivot axis when, upon having been moved away from that position, it is released.

It is a further object of this invention to provide in a hanging grip of the type specified a support in the form of a circular cup, having mounted therein the pivot of oscillation of the grip, which pivot projects externally of the cup through an axial bore and has mounted on its projecting portion the grip hub which is held in position by means of a pin extending through a longitudinal slit in the pivot. The helical torsion spring is wound about the pivot between the bottom of the cup-shaped support and is discshaped head of the pivot, while the spiral spring is seated in a recess with a hemispherical bottom in the hub, into which extend the pivot and a stop at the pivot end. The helical spring is adapted to absorb the rotational forces directed in the vertical plane of oscillation of the grip, while the spiral spring absorbs all forces inclined to the vertical plane.

This invention will be more fully understood from the following specification, in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings which show two embodiments of the invention, and in which Figure 1 is a sectional view of a hanging grip embodying features of the present invention.

Figure 2 is a sectional view of a modified form of the support of Fig. 1.

Referring now to Figure 1, the reference numeral i denotes a cup-shaped support having flanges for attachment to the side wall of the vehicle body in the usual manner. The pivot 4 of the grip is rotatably mounted in the cylindrical recess 2 of the support and one of its ends projects from the recess 2 through an axial bore, provided at the bottom of the cup-shaped support I. The pivot 4 has at its other end a disc-shaped head 3 closing the opening in the enlarged terminal portion 2a of the recess 2. A helical torsion spring 6 is wound on the pivot between head 3' and the bottom of the support. One end of spring 5 is engaged in a hole 5 in the pivot, while the other end is anchored in a rib I projecting inwardly from the inner surface 4a of the cylindrical wall of the support.

The spring 6 resiliently opposes any rotation about its axis conferred to the pivot 4 by an external force and restores the pivot to its rest position as the action of such force ceases.

The fixed support I is formed with a flat front surface 8 on which bears the hollow hub 9 of the grip, hub 3 being provided with an extension I!) for attachment of the handle of the grip (not shown).

The pivot 4 extends into a cylindrical recess 9a in the hub 9 having a spherical bottom and is connected with the hub 9 by a pin H extending through diametrically opposed holes in the sides of the recess 9 and of a ring I5 seated in recess 9a and a longitudinal slit l2 in the pivot 4. The slit extends axially over a sufficient length to permit a rocking movement of the hub 9 in a plane passing through the central axis of the pivot 4. The return of the hub to its initial position perpendicular to the axis of the pivot is effected by a spiral spring is which is compressed between the ring l5 and the head of a screw l4 screwed into an axial bore at the free end of the pivot 4.

As shown in Figure 1, the inner diameter of the ring I5 is greater than the outer diameter of the pivot 4, and is further provided with recesses I511 to make possible the above-mentioned rocking movement of the hub 9.

The above arrangement of parts affords the advantage referred to above, each of the two springs is subjected to stresses of one type only, whereby the efficiency and life of the system are considerably improved.

In the modification shown in Figure 2, the hub 90 is formed, on the side facing the flat surface 8 of the support I, with a fiat surface which normally registers with the surface 8, and on its opposite side with a cylindrical recess I6 having an inner annular shoulder [7. A cylindrical steel bushing 23 is forced on the portion of the pivot 4 projecting from the support I and the hub is fitted on the bushing and is held against the surface 8 of the support I by means of the pin H which extends through the slit l2 in the pivot and bushing. A helical spring I8 is compressed between the shoulder IT and the head l9 of the screw which is threaded into the axial terminal bore in the pivot 4. The face of the hub remote from the support I is cut along a plane inclined to the central axis of the pivot, so that the hub 80 can be inclined with respect to this axis at a predetermined angle against the action of the spring [8 to bring the inclined plane against the periphery of the head IS. The cylindrical bushing 28 is made of steel or some other hard metal when the members of the hanging grip are made of light metal alloys. This avoids excessive wear of the sliding surfaces of the light metal members in contact with one another.

What I claim is:

1. Hanging grip for passengers in a vehicle comprising, in combination, a support to be secured to the vehicle body, a pivot rotatably mounted in said support and extending outwardly from it, means for preventing axial displacement of the pivot when supported from the secured support, a hub and a hand grip, said hub being mounted on the part of the pivot extending outwardly from the support and means connecting said hub to said pivot for a rocking movement parallel to its own middle plane extending through the central axis of the pivot but keeping it against rotation with respect to the pivot in a plane at right angles to the latter, a first helical spring wound around the pivot and secured by its ends to the pivot and the support, respectively, in order to maintain the pivot in an angular position in which the hand grip secured to the hub is in its rest position, and a second spring interposed between the free end of the pivot projecting from the support and the body of the hub and opposing the rocking movement of the hub in the direction of the central axis of the pivot.

2. Hanging grip for passengers in a vehicle, comprising in combination, a support for attachment to the vehicle body, a pivot rotatably mounted in said support and extending outward- 1y from it, means preventing axial displacement of the pivot, a longitudinal diametrical slot in the part of the pivot extending outwardly from the support, a hub for said grip surrounding the part of the pivot extending outwardly from the support, the hub wall facing the outer surface of the pivot being spaced apart from said surface, a pin extending through the slot in the pivot and secured to the hub, the dimension of the pivot and of the hub in the direction of the axis of the pivot being such as to allow a rocking movement of the hub parallel to its middle plane extending through the axis of the pivot, the dimension of the pin in a direction transversely of its length being substantially equal to the slot width in said direction, a first spring wound around the pivot and secured by its ends to the pivot, and the support, respectively, in order to maintain the pivot in an angular position in which the handgrip secured to the hub is in its inoperative position, and a second spring interposed between the free end of the pivot projecting from the support and the body of the hub, thereby opposing the rocking movement of the hub in the direction of said slot.

3. Hanging grip for passengers in a vehicle, comprising in combination, a cup-like support for attachment to the vehicle body, a pivot mounted for axial rotation in a cylindrical recess in said support and extending outwardly through a bore in the cup bottom, said pivot having a discshaped head, the diameter of which is substantially greater than that of said recess, said disc bearing with its peripheric rim on an annular surface formed at the bottom of the enlarged upper portion of the recess to receive the discshaped head, an annular bead surrounding the part of the pivot which projects from the support and bears on the outer surface of the support, a hub for said grip having a circular recess with a hemispherical bottom, the diameter of which substantially equals the outer diameter of the annular bead, a pair of diametrically opposed coaxial bores in the bead and a pair of diametrically opposed coaxial bores substantially of the same size in the walls of the circular recess, facing the bores in the bead, a diametrical longitudinal slit in the part of the pivot which extends outwardly from the support, a pin extending through the slit and the opposed bores in the bead and reaching by its ends into the bores in the hub wall, said slot substantially equalling in width the pin diameter and extending towards the end of the pivot so as to allow a displacement of the pin towards said end of the pivot, the inner diameter of the annular bead being greater than the diameter of the pivot, the outer surface of the hub facing the surface of the support being substantially flush with the surface of the annular bead which bears on the support, a first helical spring closely wound around said pivot and situated between the pivot head and the bottom of the recess in the support, said spring being attached at one end to the pivot and at its other end to the support so as to maintain the handgrip secured to the hub in an inoperative position, a second spiral spring secured at one end to the pivot end which projects outwardly from the support, a screw in an axial bore in the pivot and bearing by its opposite end on the surface of the annular bead facing the bottom of the recess in the hub, thereby opposing axial movement of the pivot and a lengthwise rocking movement of the hub in the slot.

4. Hanging grip for passengers in a vehicle, comprising in combination, a cup-like support for attachment to the vehicle body, a pivot mounted for axial rotation in a cylindrical recess in said support and extending outwardly through a bore in the cup bottom, said pivot having a discshaped head the diameter of which is substantially greater than that of said recess, said disc bearing with its peripheric rim on an annular surface formed at the bottom of the enlarged upper portion of the recess to receive the discshaped head, an annular bead surrounding the part of the pivot which projects from the support and bears on the outer surface of the support, a hub for said grip, the pivot portion of which projects outwardly from the support, ex-

tending through a bore in the hub, the diameter of said bore bein greater than that of the pivot, said hub bearing on the outer surface of the support, a diametrical longitudinal slot in the part of the pivot reaching into the bore in the hub, a pair of coaxial opposite bores having their axis situated in a diametrical plane of the bore extending through the hub, a pin extending through said slot and reaching with its ends into the diametrical bores in the hub, the slot equalling in width the diameter of the pin and extending towards the end of the pivot to allow a displacement of the pin towards said end, the bore in the hub, through which the pivot extends, having an enlarged portion at its end opposed to the support, a first helical spring closely wound around said pivot and situated between the pivot head and the bottom of the recess in the support,

said spring being attached at one end to the pivot and at its other end to the support so as to maintain the handgrip secured to the hub in an inoperative position, a second helical torque spring interposed between the annular bottom of the said enlarged portion of the bore and a disc-shaped head of a screw in an axial bore in the pivot, opposing axial movement of the pivot and a lengthwise rocking movement of the hub in the slot, the hub surface facing said head of the screw being inclined towards the handgrip with respect to the pivot axis.

References Cited in the file of this patent FOREIGN PATENTS Number 

